Activity Level?

Blueeyes1117

I'm having a hard time deciding what activity level to choose. Not Active or Lightly active. The not active states it's for people who have desk jobs. I have a desk job, however I workout 6-7 days a week and usually get in 7,500-10,000 steps a day. What would you put?

Megan_smartiepants1970

I would put active oops sorry I forgot the word lightly ...no wonder I got disagrees .. I apologize so that should of read lightly active

DancingMoosie

Start with not active, and add your workouts to your diary. Give it about a month and re-evaluate.

Lietchi

Your activity level is intended to reflect your activity level NOT counting intentional exercise. So that means your job, chores around the house, hobbies, walking to and from work etc.

And then you add your exercise separately, which will give you extra calories.

lynn_glenmont

MFP is designed for you to base your activity level on your non-exercise daily life and add your exercise/workouts for additional calories.

If your daily steps are mostly coming from your workout, I'd go with sedentary/not active (and log your exercise). If you're getting at least half your steps from your daily life, absent exercise, I'd go with lightly active (and log your exercise).

And, as said above, be prepared to make adjustments based on results (aka data).

chulton2020

Well this explains why I maintained my weight this week when I felt sure that I should be down a pound. I've just adjusted my activity level and am looking forward to the next week now.

DancingMoosie

The problem comes from a misunderstanding. If you think "well I get 10k steps a day, I must be active" and then also log whatever activities/workouts you do (that also count towards those steps), then you are essentially counting them twice. For example, I do not work a desk job. I move around a bit each hour to a different room/area or go run errands. I probably get 7k-10k steps just at work. I end up with 14-25k steps(25k on a long run day) total. But I have my activity level set to lightly active and then log my workouts separately. If I didn't want to log my workouts separately, I would just set my activity level to very active and not log any extra steps/workouts.

Blueeyes1117

I'm on day 28 now of working out daily only missed one day. Think I should give it another month ?

Blueeyes1117

lynn_glenmont wrote: »

MFP is designed for you to base your activity level on your non-exercise daily life and add your exercise/workouts for additional calories.

If your daily steps are mostly coming from your workout, I'd go with sedentary/not active (and log your exercise). If you're getting at least half your steps from your daily life, absent exercise, I'd go with lightly active (and log your exercise).

And, as said above, be prepared to make adjustments based on results (aka data).

Very helpful, Thank you

lynn_glenmont

Blueeyes1117 wrote: »

I'm on day 28 now of working out daily only missed one day. Think I should give it another month ?

Give it another month as opposed to ... what? We have to know what we're choosing between to give advice.

Courtscan2

I'm an outlier here, I don't like to "add" calories for workouts. To me, it just complicates my life and makes it difficult to plan meals. I have a desk job as well, and also workout 4-5 times a week, and have 2 kids and a puppy at home, so easily get 10k steps a day. So I have mine set to active so that the number I am trying to hit is nice and consistent. I don't add activity at all though, and don't try to "eat back" exercise calories, I just have the same goal for calories and macros every day, and that's what works for me. Do what works for you. There is no single "best" way to use MFP.

Now I'll just sit here and wait for the "disagrees" to flow in

ALZ14

lemongirlbc wrote: »

I'm an outlier here, I don't like to "add" calories for workouts. To me, it just complicates my life and makes it difficult to plan meals. I have a desk job as well, and also workout 4-5 times a week, and have 2 kids and a puppy at home, so easily get 10k steps a day. So I have mine set to active so that the number I am trying to hit is nice and consistent. I don't add activity at all though, and don't try to "eat back" exercise calories, I just have the same goal for calories and macros every day, and that's what works for me. Do what works for you. There is no single "best" way to use MFP.

Now I'll just sit here and wait for the "disagrees" to flow in

If it works for you, great! But by accounting for your activity in your calories you are really eating back your exercise calories to a point, just in a roundabout way. 😋

DancingMoosie

@lemon, that's basically what I said. Do either(set activity level higher/don't log exercise or set activity level lower/log exercise) not both!

Dogmom1978

Yes, do whatever works for you, just make sure you aren’t double dipping.

As already stated, don’t pick active if you work a desk job and then ALSO add in exercise.

Personally, I go with sedentary (desk job) and then I add in my workouts. Those include dog walks, hiking, weight lifting and various cardio machines. I like to SEE how many calories my exercise is getting me. 😊

Courtscan2

ALZ14 wrote: »

lemongirlbc wrote: »

I'm an outlier here, I don't like to "add" calories for workouts. To me, it just complicates my life and makes it difficult to plan meals. I have a desk job as well, and also workout 4-5 times a week, and have 2 kids and a puppy at home, so easily get 10k steps a day. So I have mine set to active so that the number I am trying to hit is nice and consistent. I don't add activity at all though, and don't try to "eat back" exercise calories, I just have the same goal for calories and macros every day, and that's what works for me. Do what works for you. There is no single "best" way to use MFP.

Now I'll just sit here and wait for the "disagrees" to flow in

If it works for you, great! But by accounting for your activity in your calories you are really eating back your exercise calories to a point, just in a roundabout way. 😋

Absolutely, I mean I don't bother to add each and every activity I do - sort of à la TDEE. I am eating for my average output, and not worrying at all about how many calories I burn in all extra activities every day.

snuff15ee

IMO calculating my own TDEE and eating under/at/above (goal dependent) is the easiest way to do business in MFP. When I was eating in a deficit and gained weight I'd knock off 100 calories and go another couple weeks. I kept all of my data in an excel sheet and after a few months I was able to really zero in on my TDEE. This technique helped me lose 40+ pounds and keep it off for over a year now. Ultimately, go with whatever works for you. You can always adjust the numbers.

ahoy_m8

TDEE is simpler for me, too. My exercise is super consistent week to week, though. The MFP method might be simpler for people who vary their intentional exercise a lot.

I keep checking new posts on this thread hoping that someone has a handy chart that defines activity level by daily steps. Pedometers are so common, and it seems activity level definitions haven't changed in decades. Great point above, though, to consider steps incurred through daily living vs. steps incurred through intentional exercise.